Great little collection of PKD stories that inspired the recent Channel 4 tv series. Creepy, terrifying and thought provoking. PKD at his best.

As a long-time sci-fan but someone relatively new to Philip K. Dick's work, this collection turned out to be a good place to start. The twelve stories, which are the jumping-off points for episodes of the Electric Dreams TV show, showcase Dick's strengths : crafting tight, suspenseful sci-fi stories; making speculative and otherworldly environments relatable by populating them with relatable characters; and delivering cautionary messages with a note of hope. Each story has an accompanying introduction by the writer who adapted it for the TV show, which provides some interesting perspective on how PKD's work still influences media creators today.

Many of Dick's Cold War-era dystopian imaginings feel relevant in 2021, involving themes of social division, mass surveillance, and marketing that can be beamed directly into your brain. However, one thing that didn't age well was the way PKD writes about women. He seemed to be able to imagine the possibility of worlds where humans interact with aliens and robots, but not the possibility of women who aren't housewives. His physical descriptions of women are also hilarious, with several mentions of "fluttering" or "trembling" breasts, as if intense emotion makes them jiggle spontaneously and independently of the rest of our bodies. Luckily the rest of the writing is so good that you can mostly laugh and roll your eyes and move on.

These were great short stories written in the early 1950's but the different themes explored in the stories are as relevant today as they were then (privacy, technology, environmental issues). Some of the books felt like something you'd find on Twilight Zone and others made me wonder the influence PKD had on Stephen King. I'm not a huge fan of PKD's writing style - his characters sometimes fall flat for me - but the stories and ideas are really engaging.

As many anthologies go this one was hit or miss. Some stories were awesome mind benders and edge of your seat entertaining, others made me say who cares and flip pages and skim. I'd say it's about 60 40 or 70 30 good to bad, glad I read it and look forward to the show.

Wonderfully weird, and eerily applicable to today's climate. As a collection, each story provided enough mind fodder without being too heavy-handed. I would highly recommend for someone who is looking for a sci-fi tryst.

i read ‘Foster You’re Dead’ years ago, and ended up presenting on it about 3 or 4 times. I love the way PKD — in this story and his others — wrote of the timeless anxieties surrounding humanity and how we inevitably lose to our own creations. i loved most of these stories, and i’m glad i read this slowly so i could appreciate them even more.

I love classic sci fi/fantasy. Always have and most likely always will. And this is a very nice collection by PKD, with the bonus of an intro for each story by the screenwriter for the Electric Dreams TV show (which I really need to check out).

My only issue with it is the same issue I run into with most short story collections, whether by the same author or multiple authors…after a while you miss the depth of a longer story (at least I do), and then the short stories aren’t as enjoyable. Still, this is a very nice collection, and includes Father Figure…a story that haunted my dreams when I first read it as a child.

This collection of short stories is a lot like watching black-and-white episodes of the original “Twilight Zone.” I love the look and feel of retro-futurism and this book is chalk full of it.
I enjoyed the humor in many of these stories, my favorite being “Sales Pitch” which hilariously sends up consumerism and very much predicts what it’s like now to constantly be bombarded by advertisements and the endless push to “buy.”
Dick’s writing style goes hard on adjectives. Everything is “shakily” “angrily” “vividly” and so forth. It’s a bit much for me and my preferences. I also skipped over the introductions by the directors that begin each story because I didn’t want any spoilers. I honk this book would’ve been constructed better if the director’s thoughts were included at the end of the book or at least at the end of each story.

When my husband and I came across this TV show on Prime, we went down a rabbit whole that is Philip K. Dick. I could only imagine how interesting the inside of his mind was with all these stories running around in there. He would have been an amazing man to sit and listen to.

This book was wonderful. Short story after short story, filled with mind twisting plots thrown at you with lightning speed. I almost needed a palate cleanser between each story to reset my mind. Absolutely amazing.

Now that I've had a small taste of what this author has to offer, I will definitely be doing a deep dive into the scifi world.

Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina | Instagram | Facebook